Understanding Substance Use Treatment Motivation: The Role of Social Network Pressure in Emerging Adulthood

• Main Author: Goodman, Ilana R.
• Other Authors: Peterson-Badali, Michele
• Language: en_ca
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: Substance Use; Emerging Adulthood; Treatment Motivation; Motivation to Change; Social Pressure; 0622; 0620; 0451
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1807/18084

Research has shown that social pressure is related to treatment motivation and plays an important role in treatment engagement in adults with problematic substance use. Despite the shifts in autonomy and decision-making in emerging adulthood, the factors affecting treatment motivation (e.g., readiness to comply with treatment) and motivation to change (e.g., problem recognition and taking steps towards change) during this period have been largely ignored. In this study, 134 youth presenting to an outpatient substance abuse program completed questionnaires investigating substance use history, mental health, social pressure to reduce use and enter treatment, and motivation. Results indicated that peer pressure accounted for significant variance in internal positive and internal negative treatment motivation. Family pressure was related only to external treatment motivation. Neither social network source had a significant impact on motivation to change. Limitations, directions for future research and treatment implications are discussed.